This is the final week of your Sundog course. Your work with Hurricane Island Outward Bound School during the final week focuses on basic climbing skills and expedition preparation at HIOBS’ Wheeler Bay basecamp and Burnt Island.
Group Dynamics
Rock Climbing (dependent on various factors)
Island Camping Skills
Your course is based on Burnt Island, a 265-acre, private island 4 miles from shore along the coast of Maine. With an intricate shoreline, the Maine coast is a unique segment of the North Atlantic seaboard. It is renowned among sailors for its picturesque beauty, iconic lighthouses, abundant bays and harbors, rocky islands, and quiet coves. Our potential cruising area covers nearly 200 miles of the Maine coast, with countless rivers, bays, and islands to explore. The rocky, spruce-covered islands are the summits of a prehistoric mountain range. Many generations of inhabitants have made their livelihoods here. Evidence left behind on the islands reveals the historic presence of indigenous Abenaki camps, pre-colonial fishing communities, post-colonial timber and farming operations, and early 20th-century granite quarries. Cold, nutrient-rich waters flow from the Canadian Maritimes and make the Gulf of Maine home to a wide range of sea birds, seals, porpoises, and whales.
During your course you may have the opportunity to do some rock climbing on one of this area’s many granite cliffs or on our ropes course at the Outward Bound basecamp. You will learn to use climbing equipment, tie knots, climb and belay each other, while instructors provide overall supervision of the site. Climbing gives you a chance to practice your balance, coordination, and flexibility as well as the group’s ability to trust and encourage each other.
It is important to keep in mind that being able to climb is dependent on a variety of factors such as weather, course route/length, and staffing availability. We intend to have this be an element of your course, but it is not guaranteed.